This episode of The Riding Obsession podcast is brought to you by Vololights, the inertia triggered brake light that automatically warns followers while engine braking and also by The Ugly Apple Cafe of Madison Wisconsin, where they use local overstock produce to offer a quick, tasty breakfast.

We’re always looking for sponsors for this podcast. Sponsors are given three focused mentions at the start, middle and end of their designated episode. Their contributions are put towards bettering the program’s content and recording equipment.

Guest Interview

Our interview continues with Isaiah Walker, a vintage motorcycle enthusiast who also knows what’s what in the electric motorcycle industry. His work was pushing new e-bike tech in the right direction. He has interesting future plans within that field.

Model Focus

“It’s a whole new concept in motorcycling, the Neo-Sports Café revolution.” – Meh, not really.

“They’re not nakeds.” – Um, yes, they are.

“They’re not trying to be race replicas.” – RR’s are usually faired. These are naked.

“They’re machines built for the way we ride today, and that offer a fresh, new take on style too. Agile, powerful, loaded with features, and best of all exciting to ride. With a range of models in the line, from big to small, you’re sure to find one that’s right for you.” – Absolutely. These bikes look great!

This Month In Motorcycle History

February 27, 1929 - The legend that is Les Archer Jr is born in his grandfather's garage in Farnham, Surrey.

February 25, 1939 - Bathurst (NSW Australia) Speedway racing legend, Bluey Wilkinson poses for his first motorcycle advertisement, the German built 'Victoria'. The bike is their new lightweight, two-stroke V 99 Fix.

February 24, 1998 - Robbie Knievel jumps more than two-thirds the length of an NFL football field, breaking his own record of 230 feet by a single foot.

February 22, 1904 - One of the greatest American motorcycle racers of all time, Joseph "Smokin' Joe" Petrali is born in San Francisco.

February 13, 1970 - Black Sabbath release their debut album, "Black Sabbath". The album will go on to "change the face of rock music."

February 12, 1972 - The 15,007,034th VW Beetle rolls off the assembly line, breaking the record for total production set by the Model T Ford. Now, what to do with all those old Bugs...it's trike time!

Listener Questions

Resident author Tom Burns asks: “I’m curious what your thoughts are on mfg. service intervals and more specifically valve clearance checks. My ZX1000 (as Robin likes to call it) manual calls for it to be checked at 15k miles but in other countries 26k miles. There is speculation about the difference being due to tighter emissions here. Many people on the forums have not found valve clearance to be out of spec even at 60k miles. I’m currently at 18,000 miles and was going to check but it now seems like a big waste of time. Do you concur doctors?”

Our Answer: There’s no harm checking. You won’t likely have to adjust anything.

Mess A La Moto

Concluding Bit

Again, we’re always looking for sponsors for this podcast. Sponsors are given three focused mentions at the start, middle and end of their designated episode. Their contributions are put towards bettering the program’s content and recording equipment.

Tune in next time for more discussion on all things specific to sport touring or universal to motorcycling as a whole.